Scan Magazine | Restaurant of the Month | Norway
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The Aker River in Oslo once powered Norwegian factories. One old industrial building, located in the riverside neighbourhood Lilleborg Torg, is now home to the brand new restaurant Astral.
Restaurant of the Month, Norway
Light enough for a late night out In a former factory, just east of Oslo’s Aker River, the newly opened restaurant Astral has already been named the 15th best restaurant in Norway by White Guide. You will never leave the place with an empty stomach, but always stay lively enough to keep going through the night. By Eirik Elvevold | Photos: Stian Broch / Originally taken for Norwegian magazine Appetitt
Everyday life in Oslo is gradually becoming more centred around the Aker River. Neighbourhoods to the east of the river such as Grünerløkka, Sagene, Bjølsen and Torshov, have never been so full of life. In an old factory building at Lilleborg Torg, where the Norwegian soap brand Lilleborg once produced its barrels and boxes, the new restaurant Astral has joined in on the cultural action. “Lilleborg Torg is still a hidden, green gem in Oslo. The location is very central, right next to the river, and there’s a great 104 | Issue 95 | December 2016
community here. It seems like everyone knows each other. What better place to create the restaurant of your dreams?” asks Astral’s sommelier Ragnhild Wright Ousland. That is probably what Astral’s owner and head chef Steffen Hansen thought before setting up shop this August. Put simply, the restaurant is the place he always wanted to visit. And he is not alone: according to White Guide, the leading restaurant guide in the Nordics, Astral is Norway’s 15th best restaurant.
Sommelier Ousland thinks it crucial that the staff like the place. “If our young team loves to hang out and work here, the guests will love it too. Astral has quality every step of the way, but you don’t have to feel stressed or listen to a waiter talk for hours. Instead, you can kick back to some Rolling Stones or Jimi Hendrix while you’re waiting for the food,” says Ousland.
Never hungry, but not too full They call it ten servings. In practice, however, that can sometimes be a bit of an understatement. Without revealing too much, you might be surprised when one delicious dish after the other starts leaving the open kitchen. Astral’s ingredients are seasonal and always changing. In Norway, that currently means root vegetables, truffles, lamb and sea food at their peak.